{"id":49668,"date":"2023-09-20T09:09:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T09:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a3cd35ac-1701-4042-b9b4-d17aa2488116"},"modified":"2023-09-20T09:33:01","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T09:33:01","slug":"how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower\/","title":{"rendered":"How to see the 2023 Draconid meteor shower"},"content":{"rendered":"

Find out how to spot a Draconid meteor with our beginner’s guide. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 September 2023 at 09:09 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The 2023 Draconid meteor shower occurs between 6 – 10 October and is best seen on the evening of 8 October.<\/p>

The radiant of the Draconid meteor shower – the point from which the meteors appear to emanate in the night sky – is the constellation Draco.<\/p>

Draco can be found winding its way between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, so look for the Plough and you can easily find the Draconids’ radiant.<\/p>

The best time to see the 2023 Draconids will be as the sky darkens at around 20:30 BST, when the radiant is high in the sky and the Moon is below the horizon.<\/p>

For more advice, read our guide on how to observe a meteor shower<\/a>, discover what causes a meteor shower<\/a> or read our guide to the best equipment for photographing meteors<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

\"Looking — Looking north: Draco, the Dragon winds its way between Ursa Major, the Great Bear and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Can we expect another spectacular Draconids display?<\/strong><\/h2>
The Draconids are also known unofficially as the Giacobinids, in reference to the parent comet 21P\/Giacobini-Zinner.<\/p>
They may have a low ZHR peak value, but increased activity has been observed over the past few years.<\/p>
The Draconid meteor shower put on spectacular displays in 1933 and 1946, with ZHR rates measured at thousands of meteors per hour.<\/p>
Enhanced rates were also seen in 1998, 2005, 2011 and 2012.<\/p>
$\"Draconid$
Draconid Meteor Shower. Credit: Robin Lee \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The 2012 event consisted mostly of very faint trails, which were detected by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar facility.<\/p>
In 2018 the shower put on an impressive display: a ZHR of 150 meteors per hour over a 4-hour period.<\/p>
While there may be no predictions for an enhanced display this year, you can still record what happens.<\/p>
It\u2019s only with recorded data that future predictions can be refined.<\/p>
**How to observe a Draconid meteor<\/strong><\/h2>** $\"A$
A red torch enables you to check charts without ruining dark adapted vision.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Meteor showers have to be one of the best astronomical events for beginners.<\/p>
They should be observed with the naked eye and you don’t need any equipment to spot one.<\/p>
This makes a meteor shower also great stargazing for kids<\/a> activity.<\/p>
**Draconid meteor shower top tips<\/strong><\/h3>**Get away from light pollution<\/a>: observing under a dark sky will increase chances of spotting a meteor.<\/li>
If observing from your own garden, turn off all the lights so they don’t spoil the view.<\/li>
Avoid using white lights such as torches and mobile phones, as this will spoil your dark-adapted vision.<\/li>
If you need to see in the dark, use a red light torch<\/a>. Turn your phone’s screen red<\/a> in the settings.<\/li>
Wrap up warm, bring something to eat and perhaps a hot drink as well.<\/li>
Use a reclining chair or sunlounger so you can look upwards without getting cramp in your neck.<\/li>
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness: you’ll be able to see more meteors<\/li>
Find the Draco constellation and then look about two thirds up in the sky in any direction.<\/li>
If you can trace a meteor back to Draco, chances are you’ve seen a Draconid meteor.<\/li><\/ul>
Clear skies, and happy meteor hunting!<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Find out how to spot a Draconid meteor with our beginner’s guide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":49669,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower.jpg",1200,801,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower.jpg",1200,801,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/how-to-see-the-2023-draconid-meteor-shower.jpg",1200,801,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Find out how to spot a Draconid meteor with our beginner's guide.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/49668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Looking north: Draco, the Dragon winds its way between Ursa Major, the Great Bear and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Can we expect another spectacular Draconids display?<\/strong><\/h2>
The Draconids are also known unofficially as the Giacobinids, in reference to the parent comet 21P\/Giacobini-Zinner.<\/p>
They may have a low ZHR peak value, but increased activity has been observed over the past few years.<\/p>
The Draconid meteor shower put on spectacular displays in 1933 and 1946, with ZHR rates measured at thousands of meteors per hour.<\/p>
Enhanced rates were also seen in 1998, 2005, 2011 and 2012.<\/p>
$\"Draconid$
Draconid Meteor Shower. Credit: Robin Lee \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The 2012 event consisted mostly of very faint trails, which were detected by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar facility.<\/p>
In 2018 the shower put on an impressive display: a ZHR of 150 meteors per hour over a 4-hour period.<\/p>
While there may be no predictions for an enhanced display this year, you can still record what happens.<\/p>
It\u2019s only with recorded data that future predictions can be refined.<\/p>
**How to observe a Draconid meteor<\/strong><\/h2>** $\"A$
A red torch enables you to check charts without ruining dark adapted vision.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Meteor showers have to be one of the best astronomical events for beginners.<\/p>
They should be observed with the naked eye and you don’t need any equipment to spot one.<\/p>
This makes a meteor shower also great stargazing for kids<\/a> activity.<\/p>
**Draconid meteor shower top tips<\/strong><\/h3>**Get away from light pollution<\/a>: observing under a dark sky will increase chances of spotting a meteor.<\/li>
If observing from your own garden, turn off all the lights so they don’t spoil the view.<\/li>
Avoid using white lights such as torches and mobile phones, as this will spoil your dark-adapted vision.<\/li>
If you need to see in the dark, use a red light torch<\/a>. Turn your phone’s screen red<\/a> in the settings.<\/li>
Wrap up warm, bring something to eat and perhaps a hot drink as well.<\/li>
Use a reclining chair or sunlounger so you can look upwards without getting cramp in your neck.<\/li>
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness: you’ll be able to see more meteors<\/li>
Find the Draco constellation and then look about two thirds up in the sky in any direction.<\/li>
If you can trace a meteor back to Draco, chances are you’ve seen a Draconid meteor.<\/li><\/ul>
Clear skies, and happy meteor hunting!<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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